1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of two-part fishing lures, having a rearmost part composed of soft and flexible material and wherein the second part is a rigid, hollow component, and more particularly to a novel snap-lock connector for joining the two in releasable securement.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
It has been a conventional practice in the sport of fishing to use a variety of fishing lures to attract fish in an attempt to catch such fish. One such lure is disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. 369,200 and is referred to as a hard bait lure since the two parts of the lure are composed of hard and rigid materials. The two parts are joined together by an eyelet and hook arrangement so that the rearmost part of the lure will pivot on the hook and eyelet arrangement to represent a swimming fish. Such a connection between the two parts is cumbersome and does not provide for a realistic securement between the opposing surfaces of the two parts and the lure is not especially effective.
An attempt to provide a realistic and visually acceptable securement between the two lure parts is set forth in the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,978, wherein the swimming of the fish is more accurately experienced during a fishing procedure by providing a more realistic fish lure which joins opposing surfaces of the two parts by means of an adhesive. The disclosure also shows a guide means for aligning the two parts together during the assembly procedure. Such an arrangement also permits the two parts to be separated after extensive use so that the soft and flexible part, representing the tail or fins of the lure, may be replaced by a new soft and flexible part.
Problems and difficulties have been encountered with the latter soft bait lure which stem largely from the fact that it is still a difficult procedure to align the two parts together preparatory for adhesive joining in spite of the guides provided and the use of an adhesive has a tendency to tear, mar, or otherwise damage the component parts so that re-use or acceptance of a replacement part is not practical. Also, the use of an adhesive and the conventional alignment procedure for joining the two lure components together requires intensive labor operations.
Therefore, a long-standing need has existed to provide a more realistic fish lure of the soft bait fish lure variety which not only presents a more visual and realistic fish presentation but permits the lure to appear to swim so as to simulate the swimming of an actual fish. An attachment means for releasably securing the two-lure component parts together should permit long wear and the capability of exchanging replacement component parts in a convenient and detachable securement.